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Hossain Rasouli, one of two Paralympic athletes evacuated from Afghanistan during an emergency operation last week, was able to compete at Tokyo’s flagship Olympic stadium.
The 26-year-old, who is primarily a sprinter, took part in the T47 long jump on Tuesday morning. He finished in last place, but set a personal best of 4.46m to the applause of the competing athletes and delegates.
If Rasouli sounded like he was baffled, stunned by the experience, then that was understandable. He flew to the country on Saturday night with his teammate Zakia Khudadadi, who will take part in the taekwondo competition later this week, after being smuggled out of Kabul under dramatic circumstances.
In an international operation that included efforts on the part of ParalympicsGB, Rasouli and Khudadadi were able to enter Kabul airport with the help of the Australian military, which was present there.
Human Rights for All founder Alison Battisson, who provides legal assistance to refugees and has been personally involved in the athlete assistance process, described her experience in an interview with The New York Times.
She said the athletes were guided to the airport remotely using a shared GPS position and were told to wear lighted scarves in order to identify themselves to the troops once inside. The athletes were given advice such as hiding their papers and money in a shiny scarf in their underwear, “and then when you go through Taliban checkpoints, pull out your scarf and wave it like crazy.” , said Battisson.
Khoudadadi and Rasouli received the attention they needed and were able to board a plane. They first flew to Dubai then to Paris, where they spent several days at the National Institute of Sport, Expertise and Performance in Paris. On Saturday, they came to Tokyo where they were welcomed by the International Paralympic Committee.
“I was very happy to hear that they had arrived in Tokyo, as I had no idea where they were on the planet,” Battisson said.
Rasouli, who had his left hand amputated after being injured in a mine explosion, had hoped to compete in the 100m but arrived too late for the competition. He then rejected the 400m offer saying, according to a Paralympic spokesperson, saying “look, I’m a 100m sprinter, doing 400m is going to be an effort.”
A long jump competition compromise was suggested by Hassouli himself and accepted. He was only able to train for 90 minutes on Monday night before entering the hotly contested T47 category alongside athletes from the United States, China and representatives of the Russian Paralympic Committee. The gold medal was won by Cuban Robiel Sol Cervantes, who jumped 7 m 46 cm, exactly three meters farther than Rasouli.
Houdadadi is expected to compete on Thursday. The taekwondo fighter, if she has weight, should compete in the women’s K44 -49kg category.
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